Daniel Cormier is still awaiting the return of Jon Jones who is currently tied up with issues outside the UFC. Until he is officially reinstated and returns however, life goes on for DC.
That includes defending the UFC light heavyweight title which he won from Anthony Johnson. And apparently he has successfully done that, fending off a strong challenge from Swede challenger Alexander Gustaffson.
The fight was however not an easy one for Cormier, surviving via split decision in a match which he admits that was pretty difficult. But rather than brag, Cormier thanks Gustaffson for the good match.
“Thank you, Alexander Gustafsson,” Cormier said in the cage after the bout via Yahoo Sports. “I will forever be indebted to you and your performance tonight. Thank you. Thank you.”
Aside from a third round knock down, Cormier practically had Gustaffson fighting the way he wanted him to – wrestle. He had expected Gustaffson to come out on the offensive with strikes and the only way to negate that was to ground him with grapples and holds.
"That was very effective," Cormier said via ESPN. "Every time I hit him with it, I felt him stop. He stopped punching. He stopped moving. When you can make a striker try to wrestle you, you know you're doing a good job."
Apparently that seemed to be enough to land him the victory and retain his title. So what’s next for DC?
The name of Jon Jones is apparently back in the picture but that would of course depend on a lot of things.
That includes how he performs with his probation and satisfies the underlying requirements tied up with his plea bargain in connection with a felony hit-and-run charge against him that happened in April.
The incident cost him the UFC Light Heavyweight title on top of a suspension.
Cormier is aching to get payback on Bones since he was the one who handed Cormier his first defeat that happened back in January.
So will Cormier finally get his revenge opportunity against Jon Jones? Will it happen in 2016?
Apparently the UFC is interested and seeing that Jones did make a curious reaction on Instagram, everything depends on how his legal issues are resolved.
Word on Bones possible return could gain some headway in the coming weeks as explained by UFC director of communications Dave Sholler.
"We're in the process, through our law firm in Las Vegas, of reviewing the terms of that plea agreement and anticipate having more news this week," Sholler said. "I saw Jones was active on Instagram after the fight, so it seems like he's interested, but tonight is about Cormier and Gustafsson."
As for Cormier, this was all he had to say for now on the Jones issue: "When he gets cleared to fight, we'll fight."